One of the most anticipated games of the year, Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, has been delayed until next year. The company said in a statement that they want to ensure that they deliver the best possible product that they can.

A screenshot from Watch Dogs (image: Ubisoft)

“Our ambition from the start with Watch Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until Spring 2014,” the company said.

Ubisoft said that the development studio did not want to compromise on the game’s quality and cited this as the main reason for the delay.

“We know a lot of you are probably wondering ‘why now?’ We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune every detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.”

Ubisoft also took the opportunity to thank their fans for the continued support. “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you. We thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the way you respond on the web, at events, press conferences and during other opportunities we have to interact. Your passion is what drives us.”